A firm foundation

India’s need for new physical infrastructure will fuel the demand for infra managers.

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Shruti Maheshwari

December 30, 2008

ISSUE DATE: January 12, 2009

UPDATED: January 2, 2009 12:42 IST

If India’s own avatar of the Silicon valley is to come any closer to the illustrious city of opportunities it is often compared to, it would need a lot more than an Infosys—to begin with, a network of mass transit systems could prove to be a good take-off point.

Infosys Technologies spends close to $5 million annually on buses, minivans, taxis to transport its employees to and from the Electronics City. Even then, Bangalore’s crumbling infrastructure that houses many a oasis, means many precious manhours lost in jams and arduous commutes.

Towering heights: Even as real estate is in a slump, long term prospects couldnt be better

And this is just one example. However, if you wish to make your own contribution to the growth story of emerging India, this is one sector that will provide immense scope and opportunity to do so.

Infrastructure is all encompassing, from transportation (aviation, railways, road transport and water), power, energy including new resources and its distribution, mining, ports and real estate.

“Upto a certain level, a country can develop without minimum infrastructure. But further growth can be sustained only if infrastructure keeps pace,” says Bakul Dholakia, director of the newly launched Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management in Gujarat. The economic losses incurred on account of congestion and poor roads alone run as high as $6 billion a year.

No wonder economist and Columbia University professor, Jagdish N. Bhagwati, once famously remarked that India’s gross domestic product growth would run two percentage points higher if the country had decent roads, railways, and power.

Investments in infrastructure can be classified under investments for roads, ports, airports, railways, pipelines, irrigation and waterways and urban infrastructure. Significant investments are expected to be made in all these areas over the next five years.

In times of an economic slowdown, the government looks to pump in more with respect to public expenditure thus ensuring continuous job creation. For this reason, this sector has the greatest element of anti-cyclical behaviour thereby maintaining a healthy growth rate, says Dholakia.

According to a mid term report released by Assocham for the period of January-June 2008, the top ten sectors that attracted the maximum investments included power (18.64 per cent), real estate (14.38 per cent) and steel (10.33 per cent).

In times of an economic slowdown, the government looks to pump in more money for public expenditure, and so this sector has the highest element of anti-cyclical behaviour.—Bakul Dholakia, Director, AIIM

The power sector topped the list as most preferred investment sector with big investments from Tata Power (Rs 50,000 crore), Sterlite industries, Jindal India Thermal Power and Lanco group. Similarly, the construction and manufacturing companies will be pumping in Rs 36,970 crore over the next two to five years for expansion of metals, electricity generation operations and setting up various facilities including power plants.

The National Highway Authority of India has drawn up detailed plans for highway development. The golden quadrilateral and the North-South-East-West corridor are just the starting points that will usher in order worth $55 billion. With investment flowing in, close to three lakh employment opportunities are expected to be generated over the next three to five years.

Work opportunities in infrastructure primarily include creation, expansion and enlarging existing infrastructure including airports, roads, power, gas distribution, ports etc., upgradation of existing capacity through modernisation of equipment and introduction of new technologies and better instrumentation and finally, operating systems that include adjunct systems operating with core infrastructure such as connecting transport and traffic management systems.

You could be a part of a major project as a junior engineer or grow in 12-15 years’ time to head major projects of development. Salaries are proportional to cost of the projects.

A look at job prospects

Engineers: Engineers form the backbone of infrastructure companies, be it construction engineers, marine engineers, mechanical engineers or even IT and systems experts. You could be employed with infrastructure providers, construction companies, consultancy providers or even financial institutions with a starting salary of Rs 5 lakh- Rs 10 lakh per annum.

Real Estate: A mammoth real estate sector requires many architects, planners and environment engineers in addition to designers and ground coordinators to build the physical space required for not just accommodating offices but also residential spaces. Architects begin at Rs 6 lakh per annum whereas planners earn around Rs 3 lakh-Rs 5 lakh per annum.